Hi guys, still haven't bitten the bullet yet but I just wanted to add in terms of lenses...

I have the money to buy the D700 body & a 24-70 2.8 now, it's just that I wanted to play around with the 50 1.8G first for about a month or two to 1. get to know the camera a little & 2. to see if I'm craving longer focal lengths or wanting wider shots.

I suppose the 24-70 covers both to a degree but still, I'd like to just start of with the 50mm first.

I know in the past that the 50 was usually the kit lens, it's only changed into crappy zooms because they make more profit from it.
Let's face it though, how many people sell their kit lens and or upgrade very quickly after buying a body with a kit lens!

I have the D700 and the 24-70mm and find it an ideal combination with a 50mm. I use the 24-70 to switch quickly between wide-angle and longer focal lengths. When I want something more compact I put the 50mm on, because the 24-70 is huge and heavy.

The idea to start with the 50mm is great, but with the 24-70 you can really find out what you use most. Shoot with it for a month and use exposure plot to calculate what focal length you used most. For me it was quite a surprise, I really like wide angle shots, but I use the 50mm and up more.

Hi,
If it is within your budget get a D700 and don't worry about what's around the corner because there will always be somethng newer and shinier around the corner.
The D700 has a Program mode just like your P/S so you can start taking photos as soon as the batery is charged. Don't forget to get a name brand CF memory card or two.
You can get all technical, tinkering with the various settings and such later, for now just start shooting, get familiar with how the camera feels and how it reacts to differing lighting condition.
I have not read the other posts but I'm sure you have been getting a steady stream of good advice to consider.
Have fun.

For the lenses just clean the glass with those microfiber cloths that you can get at the optimetrist to clean your (sun)glasses. Be carefull if there is no sand on the lens glass, then it would scratch so you would first have to blow it of with air or your breath or something. But those micro fiber cloth are excellent to remove the accidental fat fingerprint.

I have never used the the sensor dust remove thing. I would only use it if you see any dust on the photo i guess.

Just be carefull not to use anything that can affect the coating on some of the lenses (like alcohol cloths). I keep the transparent plastic cover on my LCD screen on the back so the lcd itself is still like new and you can view/use the screen while its protected because its a transparent cover.

Just use dry microfibre cloth. At the optometrist they give it away for free usually. At the camerashop you pay 5 euro or maybe even more and the quality of the cloth is less smooth then the ones from the optometrist.

I don't know about the dust sensor how often to use it. I have never used it.
But I guess only dust can come in if you switch lenses.

I think using the sensor cleaner everyday is gonna do more harm then good in the long term, so I only use it when I think its needed.

I set the camera up to run the sensor cleaning on startup and shut down. You don't notice it happening.

The D700 seems to suck in dust compared to the D90. I have never noticed any dust spots on the D90 despite many lens changes. With the D700 I've noticed it a few times, which is now why I am extra careful when changing lenses.

A rocket blower would be useful for blowing any dust that land on the mirror - be very careful to not touch it though.